Meeting_Body
FINANCE, BUDGET AND AUDIT COMMITTEE
JANUARY 17, 2018
Subject
SUBJECT: ACCESS SERVICES - QUARTERLY UPDATE
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE status report on Access Services - ADA Paratransit.
Issue
ISSUE
This is a quarterly update on Access Services (Access), as requested by the Finance, Budget and Audit Committee.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Agency Overview
Access is the Los Angeles County transit agency that provides paratransit services on behalf of Metro and 44 other Los Angeles County fixed route operators, as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Eligibility for Access is based on a person’s ability to use accessible buses and trains in Los Angeles County. Access provided more than 4.3 million passenger trips in FY 17 and provides an average of 11,000 trips daily. Access’ paratransit service is a next-day shared-ride service, which means a ride must be reserved the day before and may be shared with other Access customers. Access provides curb-to-curb service with additional assistance available to qualified individuals. The service is operated by six contractors who are responsible for the following regions of Los Angeles County: Eastern, Southern, West Central, Northern, Santa Clarita Valley and Antelope Valley. Customers call Access’ providers directly to make reservations and schedule trips. Access serves any area within ¾ of a mile on either side of a rail line or local bus route. This coordinated system allows Access customers to travel without having to transfer nearly anywhere in the Los Angeles County basin served by fixed-route transportation.
Background
This quarterly update and presentation provides information on Access’ operational performance and other Agency initiatives.
Agency Operational Performance
One of the main ways that Access oversees its contractors’ compliance with federal law and regulations and their service to Los Angeles County paratransit customers is through regular audits and the monitoring of a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). In the last year, Access has expanded and modified its KPIs, which were formally adopted by its Board of Directors in October 2017. Access has also introduced liquidated damages (LDs) in its operating contracts that are tied to these KPIs.
Key Performance Indicators
Overall, the major KPIs for Access’ ADA paratransit service are being met. In terms of preventable collisions, Access’ accident ratio has remained relatively flat over the last two years. The collision ratio is a result of accidents involving objects and deemed preventable. Access counts any collision, regardless of dollar value, in this statistic to emphasize the importance of safety to the Agency. Access has launched a number of initiatives to reduce these events, including the implementation of LDs for preventable collisions; a campaign on intersection safety; an upgraded event vehicle camera system as well as the expansion of the Road Safety Inspector team.
Recently, the performance of the call center contractor has declined due to staff retention issues and, over the last two months, staff has issued both a cure notice and has imposed penalties on the contractor for failing to meet the required performance standards. These steps have had a positive impact as the performance for the month of November improved significantly and staff anticipates that the contractor will meet all performance standards for the month of December. Nonetheless, staff will continue to monitor this contract and will take all necessary steps to improve performance.
On-time Performance (OTP) - Access has an OTP standard of 91% within a 20-minute arrival window and measures on-time performance by using GPS validation to confirm and verify driver-reported arrival time at a pick-up location. On-time windows of 20 or 30 minutes are standard for ADA paratransit.
Reservations - Average Hold Time / Calls on Hold over 5 Minutes - Access measures the average amount of time, in seconds, that calls for reservations are on hold before being answered. In addition, Access measures the percentage of reservation calls that were on hold for five minutes or longer before being answered.
Preventable Collisions - Access tracks preventable collisions system-wide, at the contractor level, and down to the driver level. As a primary measurement of how safe the paratransit system is, the preventable collision rate is calculated monthly and measures the number of preventable collisions per 100,000 service miles, an industry standard.
Service Complaints per 1,000 Trips - Access tracks the number of complaints it receives to monitor the overall quality of the service. All complaints received, regardless of validity, are included in this measure, which as shown improvement since the last report.
Customer Service Center and OMC - Average Hold Time - Access measures the average amount of time, in seconds, that calls for its customer service center and OMC are on hold before being answered.
Comprehensive Operational Review (COR)
Access’ COR process, conducted by the consulting firm of Nelson\Nygaard is complete and has been presented to the Access Board of Directors and the Agency’s stakeholder committees. See Attachment A for a copy of the COR. The report consists of an extensive overview of the Agency and provides both short and long-term recommendations some of which, such as the enhanced KPIs mentioned above, have already been implemented. Below are some key short and long-term recommendations:
Short-term Recommendations
• Implement new fleet allocation methodology
• Assume responsibility for operational facilities
Long-term Recommendations - Additional Planning Needed
• Centralize Call Center Functions
• Transition to Single Software Platform
• Monitor Non-ADA Alternative Services
The short-term recommendations in the COR are in the process of being implemented. Access staff is currently evaluating the long-term recommendations in the COR and will be making recommendations for a path forward to its Board in 2018
Customer Survey
Access recently received the results of a statistically-valid Customer Satisfaction Survey which was conducted in October 2017 of active Access customers. The results were similar, or in some cases, improved from a similar survey conducted in 2011 and showed high satisfaction overall with the service. The survey will be used to improve aspects of the service, such as the complaints response process, that did not score as highly as other facets of the operation. It is Access’ intent to conduct a survey every two years going forward.
Community Meetings
Access held a series of community meetings throughout Los Angeles County in late November and December. The meetings are held bi-annually to gather feedback from customers, address and resolve service issues and introduce new initiatives, such as the “Where’s My Ride ”(WMR) application.
Wildfire Emergency Response
During the December wildfires, Access activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to better assist customers and first responders. Accessible vehicle resources were deployed as requested to assist in evacuations and customers were sent automated messages advising them of the operational impacts of the fires and encouraging them to postpone non-essential travel.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
None.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Access is in the process of completing the following:
• Award a contract for its Northern Region (San Fernando Valley) operations,
• Complete the roll out of the WMR app to allow customers to better track their trips and rate their experience through the use of a smart phone. Access believes that this application will lead to higher customer satisfaction and reduce calls to both the contractors and the customer service center which should help improve call center performance over time. The roll out to customers in the four largest regions in Los Angeles should be complete by the end of January.
Attachments
ATTACHMENT
Attachment A - Access Services’ COR
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Giovanna M. Gogreve, ADA Paratransit Manager, 213-922-2835 (in consultation with Andre Colaiace, Access Services’ Executive Director, 213-270-6000)
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Nalini Ahuja, Chief Financial Officer, 213-922-3088
